How to Convert a File to Markdown: Supported Formats, Steps, and Limits

You can convert PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, HTML, plain text, image, and audio files to Markdown directly in a browser with GetMarkdown. Free conversions run locally, accept up to 8 files per batch at 10 MB each, and require no account. If you have complex or scanned PDFs with tables that need stronger layout or OCR handling, the paid Pro option processes them server-side. The steps below cover the free path first, then the Pro path and its limits.

Supported formats and what to expect

For Word and PowerPoint files that contain images, GetMarkdown can package the images in a ZIP archive alongside the Markdown file and reference them with relative paths. That keeps the document portable when you move it into an editor or repository.

Convert files in the browser (free, private)

1. Open the converter and locate the file selection area, labeled "Select Your Files."
2. Add up to 8 local files by clicking to select or dragging and dropping. The counter shows how many of the 8 slots you have used.
3. Start the conversion with the "Convert to Markdown" action.
4. Download the result. For Word and PowerPoint files with images, expect a ZIP containing the Markdown file and its image folder.

Expected result: clean, structured Markdown you can paste into Obsidian, Notion, GitHub, or an LLM pipeline.

Verify it worked: open the Markdown file and check that headings, lists, and tables survived. For image-bearing documents, confirm the relative image paths resolve after you unzip the archive.

Common snags:

• A file over 10 MB is rejected. Split or compress it first.
• More than 8 files in one batch is blocked. Convert in additional batches; there is no daily quota.
• Scanned PDFs may produce thin or garbled text in the free path because there is no OCR step.

Privacy on the free tier

Free conversions use local WebAssembly processing in your browser, so selected file contents are not uploaded to GetMarkdown. This matters if you are converting contracts, internal notes, or anything you would not paste into a random web service. The trade-off is that very large or layout-heavy files are more likely to hit the 10 MB ceiling or lose table structure.

When the free conversion is not enough

Choose the Pro PDF path when your source is a complex or scanned PDF and you need structured Markdown plus JSON output, for example a financial report with multi-column tables or a scanned invoice you want to feed into a RAG pipeline.

What Pro changes:

• Server-side processing for PDFs, clearly labeled before upload, so file contents do leave your browser at that point.
• Larger limits: up to 25 MB and 500 pages per PDF.
• Credits, not a flat fee: one credit per text page, two per scanned page, with the quote shown before anything is charged.
• Account required: Pro needs a free account.
• Output: a ZIP containing Markdown and structured JSON.
• Entry price: credit packs start at $9 for 500 credits.

A rough cost check: a 100-page text PDF costs about 100 credits; a 100-page scanned PDF costs about 200. At the entry pack, that is several documents before you need another pack.

Choosing between the two paths

Using the Markdown downstream

The output is structured Markdown intended for AI agents, RAG pipelines, knowledge bases, and Markdown editors. Practical checks before you rely on it:

• For RAG or LLM context: skim for broken tables and stray characters, especially from PDFs. Clean chunks retrieve better than messy ones.
• For note apps: relative image references work in Obsidian and GitHub-style repositories; some tools need images re-linked after import.
• For version control: commit the Markdown and its image folder together so diffs stay readable.

If a converted file looks wrong, the fastest diagnosis is to compare the source layout against the Markdown: missing tables usually mean a PDF that needs Pro, while missing images usually mean the ZIP was not extracted alongside the Markdown file.